A few weeks ago when I started this blog entry, I was excited to report that agriculture equipment dealerships were approaching sold-out inventory levels and already delivering machinery to numerous producers province-wide. It was actually a bittersweet situation getting stuck on a secondary highway behind a semi hauling a combine for 16 miles with no option to pass. But, on the other hand, it was exciting to know that harvest was just around the corner. Needless to say, a few weeks later harvest is now in full swing and farmers are going hard.

To date, 14% of Saskchewan crops are combined and are experiencing above average yields (Sask Agriculture). “We haven’t seen crops like this in years,” one producer told me as he was gearing up to go swathing. “Let’s just hope the weather permits.” The 2013 crop season is looking to record bumper crops in many areas. One major worry for many producers is the fear of the dirty “F” word – frost. A late spring has consequently resulted in many crops province-wide maturing over a week late due to limiting seeding situations. This creates a vulnerable situation as the growing season is also extended by a week or more. On the plus side, we have been experiencing lots of hot and dry weather with no sign of frost in the near future. Fingers crossed, but if weather continues to cooperate there is going to be a province full of happy farmers with full bins.

As harvest is underway, producers are becoming more aware of volunteer varieties and other unwanted dockage in their crops. A windy harvest last year blew swaths all over fields and caused unwanted shelling of many commodities. Lots of these seeds germinated and grew into dockage this year. Flaman Grain Cleaning & Handling offers the answer to many of these situations, such as the Kwik Kleen grain cleaner. Whether you have volunteer flax in you oat crop or pesty Kochia growing in your wheat, the Kwik Kleen is designed to remove unwanted foreign material, as long as it can be sifted out.

Although the Kwik Kleen is not a “grain cleaner” in the sense that it is not designed to produce grain clean enough for seeding purposes, it can help clean out the bulk of smaller weed seeds from the larger sample. Kochia is a prime example of a weed seed that farmers would want to remove from their grain with a Kwik Kleen cleaner. Kochia’s high moisture content causes heating once it is mixed in a bin with other grains. This heating can ruin an entire bin full of grain, leaving it fairly useless to the farmer. The Kwik Kleen cleaner removes the Kochia from various grains like wheat, Durum, and other cereals by dropping it through a screen separation as it is augered through the Kwik Kleen before entering the bin.

I am pleased to say that in my opinion the future is looking bright for the 2013 crop year! Good luck to all the producers out there working from sunup to sundown and stay safe trying to get this year’s crop in the bin!